


Undoing

by poorly_animated



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Chimera Ant Arc, Demonic Possession, During Canon, Gen, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Medical Experimentation, POV Multiple, Possible Character Death, Psychological Torture, Self-Harm, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28859238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poorly_animated/pseuds/poorly_animated
Summary: Neferpitou finds Palm and begins transforming her.
Kudos: 6





	Undoing

“Nyow just stay still!”

Looking up. Oh. I failed. 

How could I fail? No—no, this can’t -

_ It does not like the apparition and its knives. Hiss. Make the girl hiss.  _

“Oh!” Neferpitou sat back on their haunches thoughtfully. “Nyow that’s interesting!”

Their latest science experiment, a rogue human who seems to have escaped Bizeff’s quarters, is... shifting. That’s the best way to describe it. Pitou watches in awe as the woman, who was a young, beautiful brunette, morphs into a shivering, black-haired hag. Their smile grows wider. The woman-creature’s hair crawls down her scalp and past her shoulders, thinning out as it coils into long, greasy tendrils. Her face contorts and lengthens. Her skin pales, stretches taut across bones and muscles, and seems to pull itself as tight as it can go without snapping. Her eyes transform from sparkling blues to eerie pits of swirling black. Pitou claps their hands together in excitement.

“You will be a wonderful experiment, nya!” 

Pitou pauses as the woman’s clawed hands swat at Doctor Blythe’s scalpels. That won’t do. “Nyow, nyow, behave, please! You can keep all that anger for later, Number One! It could be  _ quite _ useful for defending the King, nya!”

I can’t breathe. The thing—this must be Neferpitou, Knov described it to me—is still grinning as it slices me open. Knov. Oh, Master Knov, I’ve failed you... I’ve failed all of you, not just Knov but Gon, my dearest Gon, and even that selfish brat Killua will be endangered because I failed. How could I fail?! Killing myself was so easy, and yet here I am, alive. Why?! Why must I go on living, I can’t—

_ It does not want the blades. It refuses. The girl is as dark as she goes. Where is the master? Where are the knives, the blood, the girl’s blood, it spills, it seeps, It seeps with it, staining marble with the haunting and the being. _

My whole body aches, I must be transformed, I can’t be seen like this—the beast will recognize my potential—they’ll use me as a weapon—everyone will die  _ because of me, _ those tender, giddy smiles snuffed out, those brilliant minds, the whole human mess scattered across this worthless planet—all of it relied upon my ability to end my life and I  _ failed _ at such a simple task. Master Knov was right all along, I have no control over my powers... he is the only one who could be trusted to use them... I was a fool to think I could help. And now my last living memories will be that pig Bizeff on top of me and this nightmarish creature grinning down at me. If I could slit my wrists again I would do it. If I manage to die here, let me spend eternity in punishment, give me dull blades with which to sever my arteries and carve out my tongue and repent for ever having a body full of the blood of living things. All I’ve ever wanted was love. And I never truly tasted it, only held that glimmering branch with Gon, only marveled at the serenity of fireflies deciding to trust my shaking hands. And the short moments when Master Knov met my desperate gaze with a smile... All I’ve ever—

“Hmmm, nyow what’s this?”

Pitou cocks their head as Doctor Blythe recoils from the deep knife wounds on the woman’s wrists. They squint at the blood.  _ Something _ wriggles in the red puddle, something with just enough aura that Pitou can feel its malice. Their tail twitches excitedly. 

_ It has been noticed. It feels the creature watching It, and It panics. It begins to burn, to melt, to ooze its way free, but a sharp blade scoops It from the cold stone, a blade that refuses to corrode. It cannot escape. It cannot melt through this blade. It screams.  _

I hear myself screaming before I feel it building in my throat. The mermaid must know I am in danger. Is that why I couldn’t die? Did the creature protect me? It loves Master Knov almost as much as I do, maybe it knew it would never see him again if I died here. This can’t be happening. The cat is inspecting some of my blood. I want to say something but my voice is still screaming. That blood belongs to Master Knov, not to you!! Please, Master, forgive me...

“Pitou, hurry up. The cocoon is ready.”

Pouf wrinkles his nose at the sight of his sibling playing in the dying woman’s blood. Pitou has always been far more interested in the gory aspects of humanity than he has. He sighs. “You must try to remember that this experiment is to serve the King,  _ not _ your own curiosity, Pitou.”

“Nya, I knyow that! There’s something strange about this one. She’ll be a perfect soldier, methinks!”

“Good. Now finish separating the hemispheres of her brain and get her into the cocoon. We have other business to attend to.” 

Pitou giggles to themself as Pouf flutters away. They turn to smile at the hideous, panicking woman. “Nya, he’s just jealous! I have the most fun, hehe!” 

“Please...”

I managed a word. If only I could finish the plea.

“Oh, you won’t die! Don’t worry! You’ll be reborn, nya, as a soldier for the king!” 

I want to cry. I think my body is trying to break itself in half. The thing in my blood seems to be on fire now. I feel a blade digging into my scalp.

“Nyow stay still!”

The fear the rage the hurt the shame the love the fury the desire the panic the misery the depression the stuttering, choking, all-encompassing  _ need _ to serve—

And then I am just here. I can still see the knives. But I do not feel. There is a wall now, separating me from... the thing I thought of as myself. What a strange sensation, to be separate from It for the first time in so many years. I wonder what I look like. A vague curiosity, more scientific than anything. Has this creature’s experiment affected how It deforms me? My skin feels less tight. I can almost feel the smooth glass ball in my hands, teaching me what sight truly is. A needle pokes through the shredded skin along my forearms and I note it as absentmindedly as one notes a breeze stirring a nearby tree. How odd. How utterly unremarkable to die like this. 

I no longer sense anything after a while. The nurse hovers above me, stitching and snipping, sewing me back together, I suppose, but I cannot feel the pain. The creature beside me hums happily and then the nurse is gone. Strong, stiff arms slide under my back and I know my body has left the floor. I settle into something soft. The last thing I see is a green haze, melting over my vision of the cat-like creature, and then I close my eyes and wait.


End file.
